Human intelligence sources are a significant information gathering asset for many countries. Sources provide intelligence information that aids government agencies in domestic and international investigations. Intelligence from sources is often critical to government agencies tasked with keeping their country safe, protecting citizens of the country, and protecting interests of the country both domestic and abroad. Handlers are government agency staff that work with sources covertly on an ongoing basis. As sources come from a wide variety of backgrounds, handlers need to build productive and trusting relationships with their sources. One of the ways handlers communicate with sources on a routine basis is through telephonic communications.
Government agencies that utilize human intelligence sources are often subject to strict legislation and governance that requires the documentation and retention of communication data between sources and agency handlers. Additionally, access to retained source-handler communications is often necessary by the handler, any co-handler also assigned to the source, and administrators that permit handler-source communications and coordinate operations based on information received from sources. Further, retained communications are often addressed in relation to government oversight reviews and proceedings.
As communications between sources and handlers are often subject to strict legal requirements, handlers must follow rigorous agency procedures to ensure compliance during the course of their work. As such, handlers spend a significant portion of their time making sure their work with sources complies with the laws governing their interactions with sources and completing related paperwork. Additionally, agency administrators spend a significant portion of agency budget on purchasing and maintaining dedicated hardware to ensure telephonic communications between sources and handlers comply with legal requirements. Aside from cost concerns, the dedicated hardware does not scale to allow on-demand compliance with legal requirements when additional sources are recruited. Lastly, administrative agency personnel must take time out of their day to procure and configure additional dedicated hardware.